The Weeknd Cuts Ties With H&M After Racist Ad Controversy

Health & Beauty

Posted on January 09, 2018

Sometimes you look at something that's clearly not right and think to yourself, ‘who approved that?!’

That’s just what everyone who looked at H&M’s latest kid’s campaign thought when they clapped eyes on a little African American boy dressed in a green jumper with the words, ‘Coolest monkey in the jungle.’

The rage is real.

It was enough for The Weeknd to announce on Twitter that he will refuse any work with H&M in the future.

woke up this morning shocked and embarrassed by this photo. i’m deeply offended and will not be working with @hm anymore... pic.twitter.com/P3023iYzAb

Another image from the same line shows a Caucasian boy wearing an orange jumper with the words, ‘Mangrove Jungle, official survival expert’.

Consumers were quick to point out why the African American kid was placed in the green jumper, and wasted no time labelling the campaign ‘racist’.

But others were convinced H&M didn’t intend to offend with the image, but that they “should have realised" it may cause offence, with one suggesting it showed the lack of non-white executives. “I totally understand the racist connotations around the word ‘monkey’ but, seriously, I don’t *think* that was their intention at all,” wrote one Twitter user. “However, in this day and age, surely someone at H&M should’ve realised this may offend someone, somewhere?”

Since then, a spokesperson for H&M told The Independent the image had been removed, adding: “We apologise to anyone this may have offended”.